I hope you were able to attend the FiberArts
Market, in Oakland, California, July 21-24, 2005, Oakland Marriott City Center,
for the Crochet Guild of America,
www.crochet.org
and The Knitters Guild of America,
http://www.tkga.com conferences. I am a member
of both organizations. You will find
all the information for future conferences and activities at both these websites and also
at
www.offinger.com, the organizer of this
event.

This is a photo of the necklace
that I donated to CGOA to be raffled off at their last national conference in
Oakland, CA. It is from my
Cascade Series: Sahara Gold.

The Knitters Guild of America
conference was held concurrently with CGOA. A photo of the neckalce I
created for their raffle is shown at
Inside Knits at
www.beadknit.com

CGOA was also raising funds for
Warm Up America and the necklace that I created for that raffle is shown at
Inside Beads and
Beadwrangler.com.

What's New!I have lots of eye-candy for you
since my last update.

Gifts From Friends At CL2004,
Anne Smark gave me a crocheted angel pin with beading attached using her "beadler"
tool. Noreen Crone-Findlay gave me one of her critters that is either an
angel or a butterfly woman with a face she hand painted. Take a look at
them. I have such great fun at the conferences, which are now called the
Fiber Art Market.

Scratch Bags I made a
couple of new bags using my instructions in my Learn Beadcrochet
from Scratch workshop kit. I crocheted both in with variegated rayon's.
One bag is worked in beige and rose colors and size 6/0 beads that look
like ivory. I added one larger ivory bead at the bottom and inside the bag
I stitched in my little ivory temple dog. I have had these beads for years
and finally found a use for them. The other bag is crocheted with Spring
colors and the opening has a fine eyelash yarn along the edge. The fuzzy
finish that adds contrast to this little bag.

Noro Yarn Creations I found Noro cord yarn at the last conference. I experimented and made a bracelet
using the double chain pattern. I included a loop
and bead in closure,
making the button a part of one end of the bracelet. I also have a great
book on Hawaiian Lei In Crochet by Roberta E. Wong and used one of the patterns
for a Noro lei.
This is a fabulous book you will enjoy. Check my book review on beadwrangler.com, book reviews.

In-Mesh Bead Mary Libby, On The Surface products,
asked me to make her some samples of her new in-mesh. I made
her a necklace and did not get a chance to photograph it. I also made a
bead. In-mesh is a wire mesh that can be stitched on the ends or connected
with a bead for closure. I crocheted around both edges for embellishment
and to cover the embellishment. The in-mesh is easier to work with beading
and embroidery than crochet. It takes a bit of effort to get the
hook through the mesh and work it. I filled both the bead and necklace
with cotton turquoise roving with gave it depth.

Hairpin Lace Boa After
experimenting with Clover's newest hairpin lace tool, I made this wild boa of
various yarns. I even cut strips of fabric and wove them through par of
the boa. It was very easy to make and fun to do. I also added some
larger beds to some of the hanging yarns. Most of the yarns are Lionbrand,
including Glitterspun, chenille's and eyelash. I purchased one fancy
eyelash yarn from my local yarn store and added the fabric pieces. The boa
is very soft and undulating. I ask my friend and bead tuber, Kitty, to
model this boa.

Be sure and check
Creatures to see my
latest creations. My Werewolf, woo-woo-Wanda, all crocheted rayon eyelash
and mohair, is my real prize. You will also find my crocheted bears on this same
page.

You will find my hat creations on
www.beadknit.com I crocheted part of the hats and the bottoms are finished
with knit ribbing.

I purchased some of the Himalayan
yarns at one of the conferences and mad up a sample. I quickly found out
you need to hand wash these yarns before working with them. They are made
up of leftover sari pieces and other old silk waste. There is a lot of
dust material in them. When you crochet or knit, you will be breathing
this dust matter and it could cause lung problems.

Work in Progress (WlP)

You can hand wash these yarns in Eucalon wash and once dried, they are ready to work. I separated one skein
and spun it again, making a thinner, softer yarn. I crocheted a small
basket with it using single crochet stitches. I also spun some of this
yarn along with silk threads and crocheted another basked using slip stitch.
This basket is very taut in comparison to the single crochet basket.

My WIPMy 1970s pattern experiment
continues. I took the whole ruana/poncho apart; I was just not happy with
it. I made the shawl again and this time
used a size G hook which a little faster than the 00 steel hook. I had the
back piece finished and half the front when I realized something was wrong just
like it had been before. I called my friend, Crochet Theresa, to take a
look. I could not figure out what was wrong since it is a very easy
pattern. Crochet Theresa came over and after looking at it
could find no errors, only that the dye lot was different.

I thought I had
3 skeins with only one being a different dye lot. I tried using the other
skein, and can you believe it, all three were different dye lots. When you
put them next to each other, they look the same. When you crochet the
yarn, none of the skeins match. What a disappointment. I purchased
these skeins about 4 years ago and did not know then to make sure the dye lots
were the same for skeins I was purchasing in the same color-way. None of
these skeins included the dye lot number. I will never purchase more than
one skein of the same color again unless it indicates the same dye lot number.
If no dye lot is listed, I will not purchase the yarn. All yarn companies
should provide the dye lot number so people do not go through all this misery.

Now the front two pieces are going to look different
from the back. I liked the color of the first skein, the backside much
better than the other two skeins. I am going to finish the ruana, however, I am
not as enthused. I have spent hours and hours on this ruana, not realizing
it was the dye lot that was the problem. When I finish the main piece, I
will use the other dye lots for the fringe to bring it together. I am also
going to do some surface embellishment where the two dye lots meet. I am
working a few rows a day between other more exciting projects. I do not
know where the word "ruana" originated. I do know it designates a
rectangular piece that is built up with a solid back and two sections in front
that are open in the center. These pieces can be joined at the arms or
left open. When the back is joined to the front at the arms, the shape tends to
look more like a very loose jacket freeform jacket than a poncho or shawl.
If left open without stitching at the arms, the front pieces can be wrapped over
the shoulders to appear
more like a shawl.

New WIP
I have been working on a rope when I get a few minutes here and there to
crochet. The beads are Japanese 15/0 beads and I used Elite thread.
I have a Lea Zinke lampwork vase bead and I had made a double chain with bead
crochet added for a necklace using 11/0 beads. Then I decided to also make
a rope I could wear with the bead. I combined some green beads with a few
other colors and it is slowly evolving. Here is a look at my WIP.

Crochet/Knit Grapevine Tidbits
Here is a very interesting website,
http://theiff.org/exhibits/iff-e3.html
, which contains this page on crochet hyperbolics. What's that you ask? Take a look. There are
several examples with information about the number of increases you need to
create these unique shapes. These shapes can be worked with any kind
of thread or yarn and will have a different texture and finish depending on the
fiber you use. Some fibers are listed for specific samples.

Crochet magazine's most recent issue was a
disappointment to me. It was like looking at a crochet magazine from 10
years ago.

Crochet Fantasy magazine recently
changed ownership and format. I was not too impressed with their first
issue, it was more traditional, however, their most recent issue is full of
contemporary designs and I found several of interest.